Bracelet for David Miscikowski in the $5K NLHE WSOP Event

Event #49, $5,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament, was scheduled as a 4-day event, and this time it took four days to complete it, even if the Day 4 only staged the heads up battle between David Miscikowski and Norbert Szecsi. Two hours into that battle, it was Miscikowski claiming the final pot of the tournament and securing his very first WSOP bracelet, denying Szecsi his second career bracelet and the opportunity to become the first Hungarian player to boast of this honor.

When it all started, four days ago, 696 players started their chase for the bracelet but midway through the Day 3, final table of nine players was set, all of them looking at the first prize of $719,707 and, of course, the coveted bracelet.

Miscikowski was certainly in a good company at this final table as apart from Szecsi, there was also Manig Loeser, who finished in 3rd place and earned $288,912, Oliver Price, whose fifth place finish earned him $158,064 and Kevin MacPhee who pocketed$119,267 after finishing in 6th.

The only lady at the table was Margareta Morris and her finish in 4th place secured her a payday of $212,202, which was more than her entire live winnings up to date, and her WSOP earnings until yesterday were only $2,606.

Blake Bohn was first one out and his consolation prize for the ninth place finish came in form of $54,792. John Dolan earned $70,265 for his 8th place, while the seventh place finisher Jean Gaspard earned $91,037.

After Loeser was eliminated, Szecsi and Miscikowski played for a while, but winner could not be determined. Eventually they ran out of time and they bagged and tagged to return today and finish what they have started. At that point, they were nearly even in chips, with Miscikowski holding a slight lead.

When they returned today, however, David Miscikowski found a way to turn that slight lead into the final victory over his opponent after roughly two hours of play. Although Miscikowski was struggling at some points during the match, he never lost his head and continued to play calmly, waiting his opportunity.

It came soon after he managed to double through Szecsi and was in position to eliminate him from the tournament. Norbert Szecsi shoved from the button, holding #4h#4c but ran into #7s#7h of Miscikowski, who made the call. Szecsi needed some serious help to survive this one, but dealer failed to deliver as board ran #qd#8d#5c #5s #3s, and he was eliminated in second place, banking $444,425.

David Miscikowski thus became the proud bracelet owner as well as the winner of one of the biggest first prizes of this year’s WSOP. Doing it in a tough competition and this being his first WSOP final table in his career made the victory all that sweeter, and Miscikowski did not try to hide his satisfaction. “It feels great. This is one of the biggest sweats I’ve ever had”, admitted Miscikowski in his interview for WSOP.com

Ivan Potocki

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Ivan is an aspiring journalist writer from Bosnia and Herzegovina. With a degree in English Literature and a fiery work ethic, Ivan adds a dynamic and flexible element to the PokerUpdate writing staff.